Moved Into the Center Room
by Raven Aorla
Summary: Cooper willingly gave himself up to Jean Renault so he could save two lives. He was there for several hours before Denise sashayed in. There are forms of revenge other than killing. Warnings: violence, slash, non-con.
1. Om Ani Padme Hum

It was not necessarily a wise thing for Cooper to give himself up to Jean Renault, a man whose vindictive rage had chosen the easiest scapegoat for his grief. But he needed Agent Dennis/Denise to clear his name, he needed to keep his promise of safety to Ernie, and above all he must never let fear hold him back again. So he slowly placed his gun on the ground, no matter how much Sheriff Truman spluttered; then put his hands in the air. He walked to his future with what he hoped was a calm, serene, collected visage.

Renault and his associate shoved the hostages away. Ernie ran towards safety like his pants were on fire. The DEA shot Cooper a look of both gratitude and frustration. He strode quickly, with determination. Oddness does not prevent someone from being a fine ally.

"You know that by doing this, you have greatly reduced any chance of clemency before the law," Cooper said mildly, still with his hands in the air, as he reached the derelict house.

The faux Mountie – what was his name? – kept his gun trained on Cooper as Renault shut the door and locked it. "You are a brave man," Renault said, chewing on his lip. "Also a very foolish one."

"I do what I have to do. Surely you understand," Cooper replied. To help the situation feel more remote, he imagined he was merely dictating the experience to Diane, long after everything had turned out well.

"What are we going to do now?" He was clearly not as experienced a criminal as Renault. Cooper could see the perspiration on his face, the twitch of his eyelid. This one was the more likely of the two to make a mistake.

Still, it would be rash to try to overpower them. They would probably not kill their bargaining chip unless he proved difficult, and he had every faith that the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Dept. would pull out all the stops to get him back.

Renault snapped his pistol into its holster, not answering initially. He grasped Cooper's shoulder with one hand, maneuvering him so his back was to the French-Canadian, and pulled something out of his pocket. "Put your hands together, behind your back," he said softly.

For some reason, Renault sounded a lot more dangerous when he was quiet. Cooper knew that, though he was fairly sure of emerging alive, the next few hours of negotiations and police standoff could be quite painful.

Tibetan lamas suffered tremendous oppression during decades of political turmoil in China. If they could endure it and remain committed to nonviolence, then so could Cooper in his time of difficulty. He obeyed.

"You can prevent things from getting worse," Cooper said, trying to sound soothing, knowing that this man was the least inclined of anyone to listen to him. He felt smooth plastic encircle his wrists, then tighten. They were clearly multiple cable ties; easy to get on, easy to remove with a knife or scissors, nearly impossible to get off with neither.

"What we are going to do is that you are going to stay right here and talk to the police, letting me know if they want to hear from Cooper. You will not fire any shots. We don't want them thinking we killed him, do we?"

The faux Mountie shook his head, still pointing his gun at Cooper. "But what are you going to do with him?"

"We are going to the next room. You will not interrupt, except in the aforementioned cases. We have much to discuss."

"But Renault-"

"When a man has taken your brother away, my friend, then you can talk about how I shall conduct my affairs with this one." Renault pulled his gun back out and pressed the muzzle against Cooper's head. His other arm encircled Cooper's waist, and again he spoke softly, almost paternally. "The safety is on, Agent. No need to tremble. I never shoot by accident."

_Om ani padme hum, _Cooper thought. All he said was, "Remember that actions have consequences."

Nudging the door open with his foot and pushing Cooper through, Jean Renault growled, "You have no idea."


	2. Restraint and Rules

Renault hooked a battered chair under the doorknob, effectively locking them inside the gutted room. The circle of metal was cold against Cooper's scalp. "Lie face down."

"I am very sorry about Jacques," Cooper said. The gun followed him on his way to the dusty linoleum, cool against his cheek. "We neither desired nor anticipated his death. I am not the man who killed him."

His captor grabbed him by the hair and smashed his face into the floor. The world went white for Cooper. When he returned, he found that his left cheekbone had borne the brunt of the damage, and it was bleeding a little. The bruise felt severe. Renault was sitting on his torso, straddling him really, and smoothing his free hand along Cooper's face and neck. He reproached, "Cooper, Cooper, Cooper, you are not allowed to say his name."

"I wasn't…aware…of the rules…"

"Very well. You know that I can and will hurt you."

"You've…proven your point."

"However, I will not kill you unless you do something very, very imbecilic like attempt to wrest my gun away. I am fully aware that I probably will never get to kill you at all. Good behavior will earn you some, ah, _mitigation_, of treatment, you understand?"

Cooper did not initially answer. He did not like Renault's body so close to his; it felt invasive and twisted. _Om ani padme hum…_

Renault bit his earlobe. Amazing how something which leaves no mark can hurt so badly. "'Augh!' is not an answer. Please answer me when I ask you a question. It makes discourse so much more civilized."

Please? The man had him at gunpoint, bound and crushed beneath him, and he still used 'please'? _Om ani padme…_

"Yes…it's all very…clear."

"Good. Are you concussed?"

"I don't think so."

"All right. I would prefer you to be in full, ah, possession of your faculties. As I was saying, you are, by all accounts, going to live. So what I am thinking now is: how do I still get something back? In, how do you say, repayment?"

_Diane, the man started taking off my shoes. That was my first inkling that this would be trouble the Bureau has not trained me to face. I may have conquered fear of disgrace and death, but it seems squeamishness will require additional mastery._

Renault unlaced Cooper's shoes and neatly placed them together. "The final rule is, if you don't want anyone else to know about this, I will be kind enough to keep it between us. Resistance will weaken this resolve."

Several things that Renault did were out of Cooper's view. He didn't know where the rope came from, that Renault slipped around his neck and tied to an exposed pipe under the low ceiling. There was so little slack that nearly any movement on Cooper's part would lead to his strangulation. He felt the cold circle against his head again while Renault cut away his plastic bonds. "Unbutton your shirt," Renault mumbled.

"S-surely we can…"

"Do it. Now."

Cooper cautiously rolled onto his side, feeling the tense coil about his throat, and did as he was told. His bandages were now exposed.

"You've been shot."

"Yes."

"Still healing."

"…Yes."

"So is this painful?" Renault slipped a hand under the bandage and pressed into soft scar tissue with his fingernails.

Cooper screamed.

"Now hush." Handcuffs clicked around his wrists. He did not fight against them. "I would rather not gag you. It's so much more amusing watching you try to stay quiet."

A knock on the door. "Renault?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Whatever you're doing to him, it's got the sheriff worried. He wants to talk to Cooper on the phone."

"I'll be right back," Renault said, patting Cooper on the back.

Cooper lay with his eyes shut. _Om ani padme hum. Om ani padme hum. Om ani padme hum._

The phone cord was very long. Renault stretched it through the doorframe and put it to Cooper's ear. "Tell them what you like."

"Coop? Coop?" he heard Harry anxiously inquire.

"Hi, Harry," Cooper said.

"We thought we heard you –"

"It's kind of embarrassing; Mr. Renault here bumped against my bullet holes, and I guess it was all the jitters and everything, given where I am."

"Coop, if you need us to come in; if they're hurting you –"

"No need to be hasty. I've barely a scratch. This isn't the happiest of places to be, but I have every confidence in you guys."

Renault's grin was like a wolf's as he took the receiver back and returned to the main room, shutting the door behind him. "So you see, Sheriff, we are treating him well."


	3. Smothering

"I brought you some water," Renault said when he returned. He eased Cooper onto his back and tilted his head up towards the cup.

Cooper drank it, hating to be so helpless and dependent. When the ration was drained, Renault set it aside. He removed Cooper's belt, then his pants, and propped himself up with his elbows on either side of Cooper's body. The grim smile was very close.

"I think you do not truly understand what my brother suffered. I think it is time you do." He cradled Cooper's head in his left hand and curved his right hand over the smaller man's mouth and nose.

Knowing full well that Renault would not let him die, Cooper still fought against the basic animal panic of his body, the desperation for air. His head involuntarily jerked and his body convulsed, pressed by Renault's weight. He considered trying to bite the hand but decided against it. His prerogative now was to keep quiet and survive.

Just as the shadows started closing in, Renault allowed him a few gasps, looking amused when he pressed his hand back down again. Tears rose to Cooper's eyes as the cycle repeated again, and again, and again.

Eventually he had respite from that; Renault started groping him instead. Cooper's hands hurt from two body's pressure on them, and the cuffs dug into his back. Those sensations stayed distant as one of Renault's hands went north, the other south.

"Please, don't."

Renault raised an eyebrow. "You prefer to be smothered, then?"

"It's…I mean…" Cooper could feel himself blush. "I didn't know that, well, why, I mean what –"

"Oh no, I make love to women only. What I am doing here is about possessing you. Making you mine. Bringing you down in a way that no amount of punishment from the law can, ah, erase from you." The lower hand squeezed, hard, and Cooper gasped.

"You're too ashamed to tell your friends what I'm doing. If I had beaten you, burned you, cut you, as they thought I might, as you thought I might, well, you would tell them. They would rush in immediately to save their adored Agent. As it is you dare not tell. And I leave no signs for them to question."

Then Renault got on his feet, kicking his shoes aside and disrobing from the waist down. The gun he placed in a corner on the other side of the room. Cooper tried to scrunch into a ball. Renault unrolled him onto his belly.

His breath was hot in Cooper's ear. "Outside this room you have ruined me at every turn and stolen someone I loved. Inside this room, though, I have completely…what is the word…vanquished you."


	4. The War is Won, the Battle Lost

"I am sorry about the sock and scarf, Agent, but you truly lack in self-control at this time. Do they not teach you how to - how should I put it - endure? Or does the FBI worry that it will scare away recruits? Look at you: whining like a lost puppy, tears glimmering. I can see them. I see everything.

"Ah, ah, ah, don't do that. You'll injure yourself. After all I the effort I'm expending, hurting you as little as possible, easing into things, using the oil; well, it seems ungrateful. Do you want me to leave marks beyond that cut on your face? Do you want me to let you bleed, hmm? Exactly.

"How long do you think it has been since you delivered yourself to me? Do you think it has been three hours? Four? It has been less than thirty minutes, Cooper."

_Laughter. _

"I advise you to relax. The pain will be less if you do. I actually admire you in many ways; it takes such an intellect to outsmart me, such heroism to sacrifice yourself. Do not misinterpret. What I am doing is not about….not…ohh…you smell like café au lait, did you know?

"As…as I was saying…ahh…I have defeated you right now, in this room. You may well have me imprisoned. You may well condemn me from the witness box, though I highly doubt you will mention…haha…_this…_

"Cooper, my…my…well, mine, I suppose, for this…mmm…moment at least…I wanted to stab you while shaking your hand. I like to do things like that. I have killed many women as I kissed them. I even shot one when she was…no, I won't say it…I want to hold off…we have so much time!

"Think of it. Me locked away, locked away in a cold cell on my threadbare…bed…idly passing the time…the years of incarceration…but to know every night, as I contemplate your victory…knowing…knowing that you are also lying awake…sweating over mine.

"The law cannot take away your memories of this, no matter how much you try, no matter how often you pretend that…that I never…oh, Cooper…young Cooper…poor…little…Detective Cooper…_I…will…always…have…taken…you!_"

Spent for now, Renault lay quietly, curled around Cooper's naked form. He clasped Cooper's waist to his with one hand. The other idly played with the lawman's hair. Cooper shook all over.

"Do you understand why I am sometimes gentle?" Renault asked slowly.

Cooper did not answer, so Renault gave him a long, lascivious lick from just below the shoulders to the nape of his neck. The resulting shudder nearly made Cooper choke on his noose. Cringing, he shook his head.

"I would think it was obvious. It makes everything I do to you so much worse."

He pulled Cooper so he could sit up, very carefully, undid the scarf around Cooper's mouth, and pulled out Cooper's saliva-drenched sock. Cooper shut his eyes and whispered, "Please, some water. Please."

Renault smiled. "I hate you least this way, Agent."

"Please."

"Yes. Give me a moment. Ponder, ah, ramifications or something; I'm sure you have plenty to think about."

He pulled on his briefs and pants, retrieved his gun, tied his shoes back on, and took Cooper's face in his hands. Cooper could not meet his eyes. "After your drink, we'll do this again." He pushed his lips against Cooper's and thrust his tongue deep inside.

As he lay on the cold, hard floor, staring at the bare bulb hanging on a string, Cooper heard the men outside talking.

"What's going on?"

"I'm getting our charge some water. I'm not inhuman." He heard the sound of the faucet in the kitchen being turned on.

"One of the deputies doesn't move. He's been crouching with his gun trained on me since the moment Cooper showed up." _Good old Hawk. _

"Well, bravo for him. Patience is a virtue."

"I was thinking that maybe – I mean, God, we are in a hell of a lot of trouble. Should we start talking?"

"They haven't brought in the – what is the word? The hostage negotiator. There is a protocol to these things. Third-party mediator. Not yet."

"Are there any in Twin Peaks?"

"Not nearby; no trained ones. It is a quiet town. Could be a while."

"Could we take turns, then? I'm getting the willies."

"No. You will not go into the center room under any circumstances, nor will you look in."

"What exactly are you…" He must have seen a frightening look on Renault's face, for he changed topics. "Can you stay on guard for a couple of minutes, then? I need to go to the bathroom."

"Yes. Give me your gun."

"What?"

"I will take over for you, briefly, if you surrender your weapon. If I see you even touch the door of the center room, I will shoot you in some non-vital spot, and you may go to the men outside for medical assistance. I will…the expression is "wash my hands", I believe…of the whole matter. Cooper is _my_ prisoner. Do not forget that."

"Listen, is this the sort of thing that will add a lot of jail time? If, you know, we don't make it out of this?"

"First, I am not leaving any marks on him beyond one bruise from when I lost my temper. Second, I take full responsibility for any accusations on his part. You may tell everyone that I threatened you and you were powerless to stop my actions – whatever good that does you. Now, are you going to take up my offer, or do you want to piss yourself?"

Cooper's thirst and anguish were strong, but he stilled his heart and breathed deeply.

Renault returned a while later – after time Cooper tried to use meditating – with a cupful of water in one hand and the phone in the other. "Here he is, mon ami. I really think you are worrying too much."

"Hey, Harry."

"Cooper, we're still figuring out what we're gonna do, so it'll be a while yet, but we won't let anything bad happen to you. Not over our dead bodies. Trust me."

"Always have."

"You doing okay?"

"Mr. Renault was just giving me some water. Could you possibly get some doughnuts for me when I get back? The guys here don't have any food."

Sheriff Truman laughed nervously. "I don't know how you stay so chipper despite everything."

"Sometimes I don't either."

When Renault put the phone back, Cooper slumped into a fetal position. _Om ani padme hum. Om ani padme hum. _


	5. Wane and Wax

"What are you thinking now, Agent?" Renault asked after taking a long drag on his cigarette.

Cooper didn't answer. He was busy flexing his fingers to make sure they could still move properly. His wrists ached a little from the cuffs, but his captor had been sufficiently conscientious to double-lock them, so they hadn't tightened at all. As promised, there would be no marks except for the one on his cheek. He pressed the other side of his face to the floor to avoid touching the bruise.

No visible marks, anyway.

Renault closed a hand around a fistful of Cooper's hair. Not enough to hurt, but enough to remind him that it could hurt, and hurt very much.

"I thought it was just in the movies that people wanted to smoke afterwards," Cooper said softly.

"That's not what you truly are thinking." He let go of the hair and ran the hand along Cooper's bare back, as if appraising a recent purchase. "It's all right. This is strictly between you and me."

Cooper took a deep breath. He let hollowness show in his words and monotone. "I'm pondering whole new ways of aching and the fact that I'm fairly cold."

"I thought that might happen."

"Yes." He knew better than to complain further.

"Is that all?"

He tried to summon some amiability but couldn't quite manage it. What could have been a lighter comment turned into a parody of a joke. "If you really want to know, I'm mildly impressed by your stamina, though given that you run a brothel and several prostitution rings I guess I'm not that surprised."

"Very feisty of you to say." Renault took another drag; then crushed the stub under his shoe. By now he was fully clothed while Cooper remained naked. This was obviously a deliberate psychological tactic. "Do not move unless I tell you to."

Cooper passively allowed Renault to remove the rope from around his neck and pull him to a sitting position. "I can't pretend that this wasn't a terrible experience, but thank you for using a condom at least."

"Pfft. That was for my own protection. I don't know where you've been." Renault now looped the rope around the cuffs. "Stand."

He complied, though his knees wavered and he wanted nothing more than a five-hour shower and an eighteen-hour sleep. And a hug. Several hugs. When he got out of this he was going to hug as many people as possible. Then he would tell Diane what happened and erase the tape without sending it to her. Then possibly he would shoot the noses off a bunch of targets. "Politeness costs nothing."

"You are entirely too endearing a man for your own good, and I say this though I would love to see you dead." The rope now secured Cooper's hands above his head, leaving him more vulnerable than before. Now he didn't even have the floor to shield part of his body. Renault held Cooper's chin in his hand. "For example, that must be why I want to scar you so much. Scar your mind, I mean. Take away the happy face that so many appear to be drawn to."

"That seems to be going pretty well," Cooper mumbled, not meeting his eyes. He wanted to pull back. He wanted to flinch. But he didn't want any more pain than Renault felt necessary – what he felt necessary was quite bad enough.

"Not enough. There's still an element of cheer about you, Agent, and seeing as we've only been in this room for a little over two hours and they haven't brought any kind of negotiator yet, I have the time to stamp it out." He retrieved the scarf from the corner and tied it around Cooper's eyes.

Now blind, Cooper couldn't help but feel an increase of anxiety about what was going to happen to him. Which was of course the point. The kinds of torture Renault could actually accomplish in this setting without injuring him were limited, so it made sense to heighten all the sensations by sense deprivation.

He clamped his jaw shut to stifle the yelp when he found out what it was. Renault had a candle and was dripping hot wax on his skin.

Renault had an arm around his waist and whispered in his ear. "Wonderful thing, hot wax. Beeswax tends to burn, but the cooler varieties just flake off with no sign afterwards. This is a very simple exercise, Cooper, and playing along will shorten it." He let another drop fall on Cooper's stomach.

The burst of heat was like a simultaneous jab of a needle and shrink-wrapping of the skin it touched. Every hair follicle pricked up in uncertainty, not knowing which part of the body would suffer next. "Y-yes?"

"If you scream and your friends demand to talk to you because of it, I will throw you down on the floor and fuck you again. I am assuming you don't want that." A kiss on the side of his neck. "Hm?"

"No!"

"On the other hand, if you sob – and it is genuine, and I know you have really broken down – I will stop all of this. I will get you another drink, you can dress, I'll take you to the bathroom to clean up, and we can wait out in the kitchen with a gun to your head like civilized people."

"You want me to cry?"

"Just don't hold it back. Let it happen. Be without defenses. _Then _I can say that I have won."

The next drop of wax fell on a nipple and Cooper shuddered. He managed to remain silent for an interminable length of time, jerking slightly with each drop, but silent except for an occasional hiss of air.

Renault clicked his tongue. "Mr. Stoic, I see. I will add another tactic." He covered Cooper's mouth with a hand and pinched the nostrils shut. The other hand held his head still. He must have put the candle somewhere.

No matter how much Cooper didn't want to fight it and make the suffocation worse, his body writhed for air. His pulse pounded in his ears. As the world grew sick and faint he wondered how he was supposed to weep under these conditions.

Then he realized that Renault wasn't going for a repeat of their earlier smothering session. He was relying on an aspect of male biology. "Oh no. Don't. Please don't," Cooper gasped as he felt practiced fingers curl around his involuntary erection.

"Doesn't it feel _good_, though?" The hand pumped up and down very slowly and Renault kissed Cooper on the cheek. "It must be lonely, the life you lead."

"These are basic – aahh – reflexes…they don't mean…God!"

Another drop of wax fell. Another rush of unwanted pleasure coursed through him. Mocking tenderness from lips and fingers adept at lying.

Wax. Hands. Lips. Hands. Wax. Lips. Wax. Wax. Hands. Hands. Wax. On and on.

Until eventually Renault stopped doing anything but manipulate Cooper's cock, and he started talking.

"Mademoiselle Audrey…a lovely girl…I prefer them older myself, but you should have seen her when I stabbed a man before her eyes…she was too drugged to do anything but weep in confusion...I held her and comforted her…though I was the one who caused her pain…she spoke of you in her delirium…many times…brave, honest Agent Cooper would save her…how she loved you…but you didn't take advantage, oh no, you were too honorable…a man of purity…a man beyond lust…a man in control…and you did save her… took her away from the evil man…what would she say if she saw you now? You could save her from me but you couldn't save yourself…now you're clay in my hands…in French it is called 'le petit mort'…it's almost as good as le grand, yes?"

_And he didn't want to he couldn't be doing it thinking about Audrey and thinking about Laura and the innocents and he had to do what he had to do but he'd been raped and not just once but twice and why couldn't his friends hurry and he was trying to remember the mantra but the mantra wouldn't stay in his head he saved their lives but he would carry this even if he shot the man dead that wouldn't change what had happened and oh but he hadn't felt like this for ages he hadn't loved since Caroline and so much fear and so much doubt and oh God he was coming and coming and coming._

Hanging uncomfortably from his wrists, his legs like jelly, Cooper burst into tears. He felt the blindfold taken off but he didn't want to open his eyes and see the triumph in Renault's face. He didn't want to see that it was Renault holding him, rubbing his back, making soothing sounds. He could pretend it was someone who cared about him and not the man who had played him like a violin.

"You bastard…" he gasped. "You absolute bastard."

A lifetime later Cooper was dressed and sitting near the door. Renault excused himself for a restroom break. The other conspirator, gun trained on him, asked with amazement, "What did he do to you?"

Cooper just looked at him. He said nothing. He waited for Denise.


End file.
